4 Trial Lawyer • Fall 2023 By Judge Joe Charter formerly Jackson County Circuit Court First, some background. After five years in Alaska, I passed the Oregon Bar in 1991. I was a small town (Medford) litigator for 25 years, trying personal injury, construction defects, employment and other civil cases. In 2004, I was elected Justice of the Peace and heard traffic and municipal code violations. I became a bankruptcy trustee in 2011, and litigated preference and discharge issues in bankruptcy court. I was elected to the Jackson County Circuit Court in 2020 and was assigned to juvenile and domestic relations cases during the pandemic. Along the way, I served on many community boards and nonprofits. I also acted in a dozen community theater roles in as many years. In retrospect, it would have been helpful to have had theater classes as part of my law school curriculum. I learned early on that trial work, like most human endeavors, involves good story telling. I told clients in trial preparation that I would help them create a play to tell their story to the jury. I would be the director and help them write the script, but they would be the star of the show, not me. They would also help select those in supporting roles. Which leads to the first bit of advice: don’t steal the spotlight. View From The Bench Hon. Joe Charter Know the law, know the facts and know the judge It’s not about you None of us would have gotten where we are without a healthy sense of ourselves and our abilities. But lawyers are sometimes so dazzled by the craft of their presentation that they lose sight of the audience. A defendant in a speeding violation trial I heard hired an out-of-town lawyer who argued with the cop and then threw up every conceivable legal argument to see what might stick. It wasn’t until the defendant himself butted in and said the car following him that evening (before the cop lit him up) looked like it was speeding up to pass him on a dangerous curve that my ears perked up. “Oh, necessity defense — dismissed.” Not because of the lawyer’s advocacy. In divorce cases, advocates are sometimes so enmeshed in their client’s trauma that they trade personal attacks rather than address the court. I have on occasion threatened to leave the room while they continued to insult each other. Read the room My witness preparation for clients always began with the fact that they could be observed by potential jurors as soon as they enter the courthouse. Some claim 55% of communication is nonverbal body language. See https://londonimageinstitute.com/how-much-of-communication-is-nonverbal/ Many lawyers pay little attention to their clients’ body language. In a domestic violence case, an accused abuser’s dismissive snorts and smug head shaking during the victim’s testimony does not bolster their credibility. In family law cases, the same behavior from grandparents and newer partners in the gallery communicates tons about the family system dynamics. I once attended a non-profit fundraiser where the speaker never looked up from his notes or noticed that the sound system was not working properly. Only those in the nearest rows heard what he had to say. Testimony is often long and boring. If you read the room, you’ll know when your point has been made and when enough is enough. Be prepared For jury trials, I always typed out every question for both direct and cross. Perhaps my primary purpose was to reduce my own anxiety, but it also reduced the client’s anxiety to know there was a plan and order to the presentation of evidence. Others can work from an outline, but most need some checklist corresponding to the elements of proof to guide them. In document intensive cases, the best lawyers have tabbed binders of exhibit copies for the judge, witnesses and opposing counsel in addition to originals for the clerk. Either admissibility has been stipulated to beforehand or any rejected exhibits can be removed. You can hold back rebuttal exhibits, but when most exhibits are offered in one
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